12 January 2006 Edition

News in Brief

UN General found dead in Haiti

The body of General Urano Teixeira Da Matta Bacellar, the commander of the
United Nations peacekeeping force in Haiti, was discovered early in the
morning of Saturday 7 January, in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, with a
bullet wound to the head. It is believed he ended his own life. Teixeira da
Matta Bacellar had taken over as head of the 9,000-strong peacekeeping force
in September last year. The UN troops have been directly implicated in
massacres. On Friday, the UN Security Council urged the country's interim
government to hold an election by 7 February. Voting had originally been
scheduled for November, then moved to December, and then delayed a third
time until 8 January. But last week Haiti's provisional electoral council
postponed the election again, without setting a new date.

Concern over peace process in Sri Lanka

Up to 13 Sri Lankan sailors are presumed dead after a navy boat was ambushed
by suspected Tamil Tiger rebels, officials say. A fishing boat crammed with
explosives rammed one of two patrol vessels as they left the port of
Trincomalee.

The attack comes amid growing concerns that Sri Lanka's four-year old
ceasefire will soon break down, as the peace process has been hamstrung
since Sri Lanka's presidential election in November. New President Mahinda
Rajapakse has been unable to agree on a venue for peace talks with the
rebels.

On Friday 6 January around 10,000 people in Trincomalee attended the funeral
of five Tamil students, killed earlier in week. A post-mortem showed the
students had gunshot wounds. The rebels have accused the Sri Lankan security
forces of carrying out the killings.

Zapatista leader dies

Commander Ramona, one of the leaders of the Zapatista Army for National
Liberation (EZLN) has died. The public face of EZLN, Sub-commander Marcos,
cancelled his political tour around Mexico to return to Chiapas for her
funeral.

Ramona, who was considered the heart of the Zapatista Movement, was the
first guerrilla member to publicly visit the Mexican capital in October 1996
to participate in the National Indigenous Congress. At the time, she also
underwent surgery to deal with her renal problems. Her last public
appearance was during the plenary meetings of the Other Campaign in
September 2005.

Spanish Army officer under house arrest

Spanish Defence Minister José Bono put a Spanish Army officer Lieutenant
General José Mena Aguado under house arrest for eight days, after he warned
of the "serious consequences" of the passing of regulations approved by 90%
of the Catalan parliament extending its political autonomy from the Spanish
state.

Bird Flu crisis in Turkey

At least 14 people have tested positive for the lethal H5N1 strain of bird
flu as the disease spreads towards mainland Europe. Over 60 people with
flu-like symptoms who were in contact with fowl are undergoing tests in
Turkish hospitals.

A cull of chickens is being carried out in the country but it is believed
that many impoverished Kurds are refusing to give up their birds, which are
eluding the cull.